Alex Pretti was a friend of a friend who worked in the ICU on Unit 2P at the Minneapolis VA Medical Center. I too worked on that unit and was an active member in Alex’s union, AFGE Local 3669.
These types of connections are not unique. Nurses have second jobs; we follow our specialties to the next facility; we move across town and work in a different place. So many of us in the Twin Cities nursing community are connected by our jobs in health systems, service lines, and facilities.
The unnecessary death of our nurse colleague, Alex Pretti, hurts us to the very core. It is a sucker punch to the gut. Nurses, collectively, are logical and deeply practical people, and we are left asking “why?” after his senseless death. There are no good answers. We continue to be told by our federal leadership there is nothing to see here. That couldn’t be further from the truth.
Nurses are helpers. We are often the first call after a new diagnosis. We are the ones that listen, and try to understand, and then try to make a plan to help you. We are also the ones that open the door, help reach the groceries on the top shelf, or shovel your driveway. Alex was one of us, and he operated just as the rest of us would in a community that has been filled with hate, bias, and inhumanity. Sadly, he paid for it with his life.
Nurses with the Minnesota Nurses Association know the world needs more people like Alex. What Alex was doing – standing up for his community – is at the very center of caring professions. Our line of work requires us to show up, be brave, and advocate for everyone, regardless of immigration status. Alex lived this not only inside the hospital, but outside the hospital on the streets of Minneapolis, too.
Alex Pretti, rest in power. You were the best of us—a nurse, union brother, and true Minnesotan. May we honor your memory by following your lead.
Rebekah Nelson, RN
Minnesota Nurses Association Secretary
